


Goodbye, Ed

by peachthorns



Series: the weight of these wings [1]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Zombie Apocalypse, Domestic Violence, How Daryl met Carol, Male-Female Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:47:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24015442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peachthorns/pseuds/peachthorns
Summary: She never thought her saving grace, her angel in disguise, would look quite like this.
Relationships: Carol Peletier & Sophia Peletier, Carol Peletier/Ed Peletier, Daryl Dixon & Carol Peletier, Daryl Dixon & Sophia Peletier
Series: the weight of these wings [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1732168
Comments: 16
Kudos: 50





	Goodbye, Ed

**Author's Note:**

> this is a prequel to my other story, "the weight of these wings." i figured the best way to provide adequate backstory for how daryl and carol became best friends was just to tell it separately. however, it also stands alone as a no-zombies au oneshot if bethyl isn't your cup of tea.
> 
> trigger warning for dv, so proceed with care 💛

She’s not even allowed to go to Walmart, her one and only sanctuary, by herself anymore because Ed saw a TV show where a woman met her boyfriend at the grocery store, and he’s suddenly convinced she’s going to cheat there. So what was once her “woman’s work” chore of grocery shopping is now tarnished by Ed sauntering along behind her, bitching about the price of things and pinching Sophia’s arm if she walks too slow.

This used to be her one moment in the week with Sophia where they could talk freely and have mother and daughter time. She’ll never get to hear what’s going on at school now.

Speaking of Sophia, Carol hears a tiny whimper and her head whips around. Apparently she paused to look in interest at the Scooby Doo gummy snacks that they can’t afford. That’s her favorite show. She told Carol just last week at the grocery store that she thought Shaggy was cuter than Fred. Something about it was so sweet that Carol bought it for her and let her eat the whole box of them on the way home. They stopped at a gas station before they got to their neighborhood to throw the box away. She’d done a separate checkout to buy just those so she could throw away that receipt too. Ed always checks receipts. She knew how to hide from her husband by now. 

He has Sophia’s skinny bicep in a death grip with his meaty hands. She can already see the pale flesh around his fingers turning red. “Keep walkin’, little girl,” he grunts.

“Ed, we’re in public,” she whispers.

She and Ed both look down the aisle at what she hopes will be her temporary salvation. No such luck. The only one on their aisle is a man in his early thirties with short hair and a short beard. He’s wearing a stained wife beater that she imagines has not been white for many moons and some dirty, ripped up jeans. He’s squinting at the can of Great Value beans that he’s holding up in his scarred up knuckles like reading the label is taking every ounce of his concentration. He looks hungover. The only things in his buggy are a twenty-four pack of Natural Light, a block of cheddar cheese, and a pack of Great Value one-ply toilet paper. Her heart sinks. Ed smirks. He’s going to have no qualms about bitching them out in front of this guy. 

“Ain’t my fault my daughter’s an ungrateful bitch like her mama,” he says. 

“Please leave her out of it,” Carol whispers. “She didn’t do anything.” She pulls her sleeves down further over her wrists. She’s pouring sweat, but Ed had a rough night last night. She had sadly pulled her long sleeved shirts back out of winter storage. At home she didn’t bother; it was too damn hot. But Sunday was grocery day for the Peletiers, and she didn’t want any concerned strangers stopping her. That got plain embarrassing.

“Oh, so you wanna get in it, huh?” he grins a mirthless grin. He releases Sophia so abruptly that she stumbles a little, not expecting it. “Alright, I’ll bite. I work my ass off for you dumb broads, and it’s not good enough for y’all? You don’t like what I can provide?” He steps toward Carol. Her knuckles are white on the buggy.

“We’re very grateful to you. We know you work hard,” she says. She prays that she can appease him before he causes a scene and someone else comes into the aisle to see what’s going on. Any time others get involved, she only has to pay for it worse later. Once a woman in a parking lot asked her if she was okay, and as soon as they got into the car, he grabbed her by the back of the neck and slammed her face into the dashboard so hard it broke her nose. Sophia was screaming in her booster seat.

She can’t let that happen again. The older Sophia’s gotten, the worse he’s gotten towards her as well. She has to fix this. 

“I’m sure she didn’t mean anything. She’s probably just tired, didn’t know what she was looking at. Right honey?”

Sophia nods a little too desperately. “Yeah, I’m just tired.”

“You’re lazy,” Ed hisses, stalking toward Carol. “You’re both lazy. I’m the only one who does _shit_ around here. And neither one of you appreciate it. No reason for either one of ya to be tired.” He grabs Carol by the shoulder and spins her around. He’s about to hit her when Carol hears the thud of heavy boots stomping toward them. Ed drops his fist and they both turn. 

“I’d let her go if I were you,” the man in the wife beater drawls. He keeps striding down the aisle, the thud of his big, brown boots caked in red clay echoing on the clean tile. He comes to a stop next to them and crosses his arms, flexing his biceps. He has several tattoos on them, and she sees the start of one on his chest. She can’t help but notice he’s in much better shape than Ed. Not the kind of muscles you get at a gym, though. He looks like he works manual labor.

“And what if I don’t,” Ed sneers, gripping her arm tighter. She tries to keep a straight face, but she can tell from how the man’s eyes flicker briefly to her face that he sees the pain in her eyes. 

The strange man spits. He _spits_ on the floor of the fucking Walmart. That’s when she knows that there is no smoothing this over. She starts to shake.

“I’m okay,” she tells him. “We’re all okay.”

“Yeah, right, lady.” He glances pointedly at the red marks, the finger shaped bruises already appearing on Sophia’s little arm, and back at Ed’s death grip on her. “Everything’s peachy here, huh? You like wearing long sleeves when it’s 85 degrees, I reckon. Y’all are just the goddamn Brady Bunch out for groceries?”

Ed steps forward without releasing her arm, jerking her forward. She trips over the buggy wheel and goes sprawling. He releases her arm and lets her fall. She sees the man move to catch her and keep his eyes on Ed at the same time, but he’s too late. She catches herself on her hands and scrambles back up and away from her husband as quickly as she can. Sophia rushes to her, and Carol puts her arm around her. 

Ed doesn’t even spare them a glance. “You best move on, asshole,” he says to the man. “Ain’t none of your concern. This here’s family business.”

“And what if I don’t?”

Ed steps forward again. The man doesn’t budge. 

All she can think is, this is not gonna be good for her later.

And suddenly, she hears an unfamiliar voice. “Is there a problem here?”

A slim Asian man in a blue Walmart vest is walking towards them, looking absolutely terrified. Oh, god. This guy is gonna be as useless as she is at breaking this up. The man speaks into a little radio, and a bigger Black man in a matching vest joins him. 

“No problem at all,” the man in the wife beater says. He doesn’t take his eyes off of Ed as he backs toward Carol and Sophia. He looks at them casually as if he’s known them all their lives. “Y’all ready to go?”

 _This is it_ , she thinks. The moment she’s prayed for, dreamed about, daydreamed about. A chance to get Sophia out. But she never thought her saving grace, her angel in disguise, would look quite like this. Hell, is it even safe to go with this man? She doesn’t know him from Adam. He could have expectations for her for saving them. He could even be a pedophile, for God’s sake. 

She looks into his eyes. He looks back, gnawing on his thumb. And what she sees in those dark blue eyes isn’t anything like Ed at all. It’s like Sophia. 

She nods her head and takes her daughter’s hand. “We’re ready to go,” she says. They leave both of their buggies behind and she follows him out of the store, her heart pounding out of her chest. 

She hears Ed arguing with the employees that that’s his wife, dammit, but they don’t seem to believe him. They threaten to call the police. She keeps walking.

The man leads them to a beat up old Ford pickup truck and unlocks the door. “It’s a bench seat,” he says. “Gonna be a tight squeeze.”

She chooses to sit in the middle, letting Sophia have the window. And as they pull away from the Walmart, Sophia says, “thank you, sir.”

And that makes Carol start to cry. She hates herself for it, but the tears leak out of her. “Sorry,” she says. “Thank you so much, I’m sorry for crying.” She sniffs. “I’ve just thought about this happening for a long time, and I can’t believe it’s real.” The man glances at her uncomfortably and shifts in the seat. He pulls a mostly clean rag out of his back pocket and hands it to her to wipe her tears. “Ain’t nothin’,” he mumbles. 

She sniffs a few more times and composes herself. She refolds the rag and hands it back to him, feeling embarrassed. He takes it and puts it back in his pocket. He glances at her for a second, and his Adam’s apple bobs. “I’m Daryl,” he says.

“I’m Carol, and this is Sophia.”

“I’m in third grade,” volunteers Sophia shyly.

The man nods. “I been to third grade a couple times.” This makes Sophia giggle, and the man’s lips quirk up. He coughs out what she supposes is supposed to be a laugh too. Carol feels relief flood through her. She hasn’t heard Sophia giggle much lately. 

“I don’t have anywhere for you to take us,” she says suddenly. “If I had family or friends, I would’ve already left.”

He nods. “I figured. Asshole like that wouldn’t let you talk to them if you had ‘em. Y’all can stay with me.” He glances at her nervously and she sees index finger scraping relentlessly at his cuticles where his hand is propped on the wheel. “I’ll sleep on the couch,” he hurriedly adds.

She smiles. “Thank you. We can’t put you out like that. We can sleep in the living room.”

He shakes his head. “There’s only one couch, no other furniture in there. Won’t fit both of you. I ain’t lived there long. Can’t have no kid sleepin’ on the floor. Y’all can take my room.”

“I can’t repay you,” she says. “I wish I could.”

“Don’t need to,” he shrugs. 

They stop at a red light, and he shuffles through a few cassette tapes in the compartment on his door until he finds the one he’s looking for and pops it in. He skips to track five and turns up the volume.

The second she recognizes the song, she bursts into laughter. 

_It didn’t take ‘em long to decide  
That Earl had to die  
Goodbye Earl  
Those black-eyed peas, they tasted alright to me, Earl  
You're feelin' weak? Why don't you lay down and sleep, Earl  
Ain't it dark wrapped up in that tarp, Earl_

Sophia starts laughing then, harder than Carol has ever heard her. They laugh until there are tears in their eyes. Daryl even starts to laugh. (Well, his weird cough-laugh that sounds a little like he’s choking on spit more than laughing). By the time he pulls up to a mom and pop grocery, the song is ending and they all three feel a little lighter. 

“Goodbye, Ed,” whispers Carol. 

Sophia squeezes her hand, in they all head into the grocery store. Carol can feel the worry starting to set in. She knows in her heart that there’s no way this is over, but for now she just wants to allow herself a break.

“Alright, now. What do kids eat?” Daryl asks. Sophia giggles again. 

“I’m serious,” he says. “Don’t got no kids. I got a dog, though. He’s gonna be pissed about y’all sleepin’ in our bed, might to try stay in there with ya.”

Somehow that makes Carol feel even better. This man may look gruff, but he has a dog that sleeps in his bed. He can’t be that bad. 

Sophia’s face lights up. Poor girl has always wanted a dog, but Ed’s never let her. “What’s his name?” she asks. 

“Dog,” replies Daryl. They both laugh, and his face gets a little red. “What?” he throws his hands up defensively.

“Why’d you name him Dog?” asks Sophia. 

“He just showed up at the place where I was stayin’ a few months back, and I was callin’ him Dog. By the time I gave in and decided to keep him, he was already answerin’ to it. Woulda confused him to change his name then.”

“That’s silly,” says Sophia.

He stops the buggy at the pet aisle and grabs a bag of dog chow. They stop to get a pack of toilet paper, and then he heads to the refrigerated section. “I’m serious, y’all. What kinda food am I supposed to get?”

“I don’t have any money,” says Carol. “Ed controls the bank account.”

He waves his hand at her dismissively. “Hush, I got it.” He turns to Sophia. “What do you eat, kid?”

Sophia shrugs. “Whatever you like.” 

He looks at Carol, and she shrugs too. He rolls his eyes and mutters under his breath. He grabs another block of cheese, and a carton of eggs. 

“You can get beer,” she says. He whips his head toward her and she can sees him starting to get defensive. _Shit._ She didn’t mean for it to come out that way, like he looks like a drinker or something. “I saw you had it earlier, and I just wanted you to know we don’t mind at all,” she rushes to add.

He seems to deflate a little, and he shrugs. “Nah, not if there’s a little one in the house. We can just get some juice, or whatever the fuck kids drink.”

“Water is fine,” whispers Sophia. He cranes his head at her and squints. 

“Nah, I think you’re supposed to be drinkin’ juice. It has vitamins for kids. Saw a commercial about it. Apple or orange?”

Sophia looks at Carol, and Carol nods. “Apple!” she exclaims. 

He gets a carton of apple juice too, and then they head to the next aisle. He gets bread, peanut butter, rice, and several cans of beans. 

“Anything else?” he asks. They both shake their heads, and he heads towards check out. He sees Sophia eying the candy bars, and he grabs a handful and puts them with their groceries, smirking at her. 

Sophia’s eyes get big, and she glances nervously at Carol, who pretends not to notice. She’s starting to truly comprehend that she will never be able to repay this man.

###### 

They pass the city limit sign and drive five more miles. He turns off the highway onto a dirt road. After riding a mile down that, the dirt road dead-ends. There’s two ruts where tires have clearly forged a path, and he eases the truck off the dirt road and onto that. Finally, they come up on a little cabin in the woods. He bites his thumb, and she realizes he’s embarrassed. “it ain’t much,” he mumbles. 

“I love it,” she says. He glances at her and she smiles. “It’s so peaceful out here.”

They all grab groceries out of the truck bed, and Daryl unlocks the door. He’s almost knocked down by an excited dog that looks like a German shepherd mix. She can tell from his gangly legs and hyperactivity that he isn’t fully grown yet, but he’s still pretty big. Daryl smiles an honest to God smile with teeth when he sees the dog. He introduces Dog formally to both of them, and Dog shakes both of their hands on command, which thrills Sophia. The cabin is small and sparsely furnished. On one side of the room is a little kitchenette with no table, chairs, or appliances. On the other side is a beat-up couch and a tiny, outdated television set on the floor. She sees two doors that she guesses lead to the bedroom and bathroom. She can practically feel him getting embarrassed again, so she begins to gush about how cozy it is. She can tell he doesn’t fall for it entirely, but it seems to help a little. 

“I ain’t lived here too long,” he says again. “Few weeks. Next paycheck, I’m gonna get a table.”

“I think it’s perfect,” she says, and she means it. 

“What do you want me to cook?” she asks after they’ve put away the groceries. He snaps his head to look at her and squints. “Nothin’,” he says. “I got venison thawing out, was gonna make rice and beans to go with it.” 

“I can do it,” she offers. 

He shakes his head. “I got it.”

“Please,” she says, her voice trembling a little. Something in her tone makes him look at her. She sounds desperate; even she can hear it. “I don’t have any money. I don’t have anywhere to go. I don’t have any way to thank you. Please just let me cook you dinner.”

He looks at her for a long minute and nods. He disappears into the other room, and she realizes after a few minutes he’s changing the sheets in his bedroom for them. “I coulda done that,” she calls. 

“Cook your damn beans, woman,” he shouts back. 

She smiles and stirs the beans.

###### 

They have supper in a picnic style on the living room floor across from the TV, watching a cartoon Daryl turns on. He serves Dog his food on the floor with them, and she gets the sense that this is how he and Dog typically have dinner. 

The whole thing is insane to her. She doesn’t know this man at all. He could be a serial killer, and they’re so far into the woods that she would be completely screwed. And yet she doesn’t think she’s been this relaxed at dinner since before she met Ed. 

After they eat, he tells them where the clean towels are and furrows his brow when he realizes they have nothing to change into afterwards. He disappears into his room and comes back with folded t-shirts. “These are the best I can do,” he grunts, tossing them at her. 

“Do you have long sleeved shirts?” she asks.

“Nah, and these are the only ones without the short sleeves ripped off,” he replies. “Nothin’ to be ashamed of. It’s fuckin’ hot.”

He disappears into his room again and comes out with two pairs of sweatpants. He pulls a knife out of his pocket and plops down onto the couch. Before she can ask what he’s doing with that knife, he starts hacking the legs off one pair at the knee. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” she bursts out before she can stop herself.

He gestures to where Sophia is cuddling on the floor with Dog like what he’s doing is completely obvious. “You can just roll yours up, but her legs are too damn short. She’s gonna trip.”

“Daryl, those are your pants. You don’t have to do that.”

He ignores her and finishes cutting them. “Alright kid, see if these are short enough.”

She shyly stands up and takes them from him. She holds him up to her skinny frame. “Looks alright to me,” he says. “You’re gonna have to tie the drawstring pretty tight, though.”

She smiles. “That’s okay. Thank you, Mr. Daryl.”

His whole face goes red beneath his tan, and he coughs in surprise. “Uh, just Daryl is fine.”

###### 

After Sophia goes to the shower, he moves to stand up from the couch. Carol puts her hand on his arm to stop him, and he flinches and jerks his head toward her. She can practically feel the tension rolling off him, but she still isn’t afraid. She feels like _he_ is. She raises her hand, palm up.

“Sorry, I just… I just wanted to thank you again. You’ve done more for my little girl today than her own father did for her in her entire life.”

He shrugs, blushing yet again. He looks very uncomfortable. “She’s a nice kid,” he says finally, staring at the floor.

“She is. And Ed’s not gonna give up,” she replies. “We can’t just leave him, it’s not that easy. He’s gonna find us.”

“Nah, he’s not.”

“You don’t know Ed.”

“I know plenty ‘a men like him. I got some favors to call in, some buddies of my brother’s. They threw him under the bus, and he went down for some of their charges too. They fuckin’ owe us. Tell me where you live, and they can pay ole Ed a little visit. Pick up some of your shit while they’re there, too.”

She looks at him. He looks back. He’s serious. 

“What will they do?” she asks. 

He doesn’t answer. He pulls out his phone, scrolls for a second, and puts it to his ear. She hears it ringing. “Where do y’all live?” he asks. 

Without even thinking, she blurts out her address. _God, please don’t let him kill him_ , she thinks. _I don’t need that on my conscience too._

“Yo, Martinez?” Daryl says. “Time to pay up.”

She can’t hear the other side of the conversation, but she tries not to panic as Daryl rattles off the address and asks the man to “pay the balding guy a little visit.” She’s just praying this isn’t a hit man, that she hasn’t misjudged Daryl this badly. And yet, a little piece of her feels deep down like that’s the only way this will ever truly go away. 

“Hey, while you’re there. Should be some clothes that belong to a lady and a little girl. Take what you can, and I’ll meet you in town later for it. Probably some toys too.”

At that, Carol mouths, "her favorite doll is on her bed."

He nods at her. “Get the doll off the kid’s bed. That’s important.”

She feels a tiny smile at the corners of her mouth. 

“Tell ‘m to leave town, or you’ll be back to finish it,” he adds. “Man, it’s none ‘a your fuckin’ business who this dude is. But it’s my fuckin’ business who was cooking the dope back at the trailer. We all know Merle was too stupid to figure out how to make that shit. The cops know it too.” He pauses. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” 

He hangs up and glances at her. “Yeah. Uh, my brother is kinda a redneck piece of shit. I don’t hang around these folks no more though, I stick to myself. I ain’t on meth or nothin’ like that.” 

She nods. “I can tell you aren’t on meth.”

He smirks and gets up to do the dishes. 

She showers after Sophia’s turn. When she gets out, Daryl is already laying on the couch with Dog. His eyes are closed, so she tiptoes into the bedroom.

Daryl’s bed is a sagging mattress propped up on wooden pallets to keep it off the floor. But the sheets are soft and smell clean. The rest of the room is completely bare, but she noticed that the few clothes he has were folded neatly in a plastic bin in the corner. Sophia is already asleep when she lies down, and soon she is too. She sleeps better than she has in a decade. She wakes up the next morning with Dog snoozing at their feet.

**Author's Note:**

> [the weight of these wings](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23588104) in case you wanna check it out :-)


End file.
